1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates to orthopedic surgery and more particularly to methods and apparatus for fixing bone elements in suitable positions for permanent healing.
2. The Background Art
Orthopedic surgeries originated millennia ago. Anthropological excavations have demonstrated orthopedics practices evidenced in healed, sometimes structurally reinforced, bone healing. Modern orthopedic surgery has greatly advanced the art of improving deformities through surgery. Moreover, the importance of maintaining an active life has motivated demonstrably improved methods for promoting the ability to heal.
For example, patients with a variety of recovery needs were customarily committed to bed rest in hospitals in decades past. Modern medicine realizes the emotional and physical toll that such inactivity takes on a patient. Modern surgical techniques acknowledge the importance of maintaining a physically active body as a mechanism to aid in healing processes. Accordingly, it is desirable to have patients continue in their daily movement and activities as soon as possible. To this end, less invasive surgical techniques have been developed.
Likewise, structural implants such as plates, screws, staples, rods, pins and the like have been augmented by new joint systems, and other orthopedic implants to replace or enhance natural orthopedic structures in the body.
Nevertheless, surgical techniques need to be simplified in many instances. Likewise, the speed at which surgical procedures can proceed is limited by both the physical circumstances of the injury or malady being corrected, as well as the equipment used, and any other supporting equipment or devices required by the procedure.
Accordingly, it would be an advance in the art to provide implants, susceptible to faster installation, more secure holding, post-installation tensioning, and the like. Such features would provide to a surgeon the additional benefit of being able to confirm securement. Implants that can originate and enforce angles of relative positioning between adjacent bone elements are also needed.
It would also be an advance if the anchor could support three dimensional stability following surgery in order to hasten healing, permit early use promoting circulation and healing, and otherwise provide securement with less threat of separation, twisting, disorientation, and the like during the important early days of the healing process.
It would be a further advance of the art to provide three dimensional stabilization between two elements being joined in an orthopedic, and particularly a hammertoe remediation, by providing reliable anchoring in the longitudinal direction, as well as orientation in the lateral and transverse directions orthogonal thereto in order that healing begin early and be promoted by stability of the joint in all three dimensions.